Minghong Xu, originally from China, joined VNB in 2019-20, and is thrilled to be dancing in her 4th season with the company and school.  She has performed the Arabian solo, Waltz of the Flowers Soloist, and Marzipan Soloist in The Nutcracker, the Summer Fairy in Cinderella, Soloist in Tango Nights, and solo roles in For those we lost, The Beatles, and Snow White.  Before joining Virginia National Ballet, she danced with Columbia Classical Ballet where she performed many solo and corps roles.  She won 3rd place in the 2017 World Ballet Competition Grand Prix in NYC,  3rd place in YAGP Senior Classical in Philadelphia 2017, and was in the top 6, 10, and 12 of the 7th International Ballet and Contemporary Dance Competition in Vienna, Fukuoka International Ballet Competition, and the 2016 YAGP in Beijing, where she also won a scholarship to Washington Ballet School.  She trained at ABT’s NYC Ballet Summer Intensive, the Joffrey Ballet School Trainee Program with full scholarship, and the Washington Ballet Summer with full scholarship.  She graduated from the Liaoning Ballet Academy in China in 2016.